What to do when the "antlers" come off?

Last night I was watching the Grinch that Stole Christmas while wrapping presents. Actually, I was just sort of glancing at it from time to time as not to miss my favorite scene when the Grinch ties an antler to his little dog's head, only to see the puppy fall over top-heavy into the snow. He eventually cuts off enough of the antler for the dog's back feet to find the ground again and, well, you know the rest.

My favorite scene of the Dr. Seuss classic brought back the funniest moment this holiday season in the TFEA office. One morning TFEA President Kay Wolf called and greeting me with "Something bad has happened, but it's sort of funny." For months, she and her staff had meticulously planned to bring live reindeer to the children of Hidalgo for the 2009 Festival of Lights, enjoyed by more than 750,000 people annually. The process including everything from coordinating veterinary health papers to a crash course in the care and feeding of reindeer.

A few days before the kick-off of the festival, one of the reindeer was being walked early morning by a city employee and PLUNK! One of the reindeer's majestic antlers simply dropped off! Shocked and panicked, the employee tucks the fallen antler under his arm and heads back to the reindeer pen, but within a few feet there is another PLUNK! Both antlers are gone!

With growing concern, he places the reindeer in its pen with the other reindeer and calls to report the problem. While on the phone, a reindeer smackdown ensues (leave it to two lady reindeer to get into a spat over such matters) and low and behold, the other reindeer loses one if its antlers, too! Soon thousands of people will arrive to look at two reindeer who only have one antler between them!

When Kay conveyed this story to me, she and I laughed so hard my mascara ran down my cheeks and my tummy hurt. Such is the life of an event planner! We never know what is in store for us and sometimes the only thing left to do is laugh.

But don't worry. The story has a mostly happy ending. For starters, reindeer shed their antlers annually, but typically not until AFTER the holiday season. And the two decrowned reindeer were traded for different ones with spectacular antlers in time for the big opening and children of all ages were wowed by their beauty. But as fate would have it, weeks later the replacement reindeer also lost their antlers prematurely! Likely the warm climate of South Texas tricked the reindeer into thinking spring had arrived.

But in spite of the drama, they still carried their load and made for a successful event, just like the little dog of Grinch cartoon fame. You can't steal Christmas from Whoville and you can't steal it from Hidalgo either!